Sheep, pigs and a donkey—oh my! As the open-intake shelter for East Baton Rouge Parish, Companion Animal Alliance (CAA) acts as a safe haven for more than just dogs and cats.
While other shelters in Baton Rouge may close their doors when they’ve reached capacity, CAA never shuts its doors on an animal. This open-door policy can result in some pretty interesting guests. A wide variety of animals find their way to the shelter, including but not limited to lizards, guinea pigs, birds, rabbits, horses, snakes, pigs, cows and even sheep.
“We actually did have a roaming pack of sheep a few months back that had just gotten loose from their local farm,” says Heidi Wetherbee, the communications and events senior manager for CAA. “You don’t expect to see six or seven sheep roving together down the street.”
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Many of the livestock at CAA are picked up by animal control or are surrendered by their previous owners. CAA works with local rescues, farms and its network of contacts to safely secure the livestock, who are then brought to CAA’s facility off River Road. CAA works to help the animals get adopted or fostered by animal lovers with the appropriate space and license to care for and transport livestock and less common pets.
Just before Hurricane Francine, CAA posted on its Instagram requesting short-term fosters for nine guinea pigs. All were fostered out, and only two came back, females named Expedition and Explorer. The rest are considered “foster fails,” a celebratory term meaning the animal’s foster family decided to adopt them instead.
Similarly, a fully grown, brown-haired pig named Swinona Ryder found her forever home just before Francine hit, too.
At the moment, the shelter is enjoying a rare moment of quiet in the barn, free from large animals. This allows the team to thoroughly clean the building and make some necessary repairs in preparation for the next intake of livestock.
CAA operates with a small but dedicated veterinary team, comprising full-time staff and LSU vet students. On any given day, there are about 10 to 12 vet staff on-site. Recently, the shelter welcomed a sweet donkey who needed to be neutered, providing a unique educational experience for the staff involved with the procedure, Wetherbee says.
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While the organization is focused on animal intake and adoption, the overall mission is to reduce the number of animals who go into shelters by providing resources to pet owners and increasing spay and neuter efforts in the parish. In 2023, the shelter cared for 9,154 animals with an 81% save rate.
Still, there are many animals in need. The rest of this week is dubbed Empty the Shelters week at CAA, as part of the Bissell Pet Foundation’s national adoption event. The shelter is waiving adoption fees for all available spayed/neutered pets. This event began Oct. 8 and continues through Sunday, Oct. 13.
Companion Animal Alliance is at 2550 Gourrier Ave. in Baton Rouge. Find more information on its website or on Instagram at @caapets.